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17.33 That's where we leave it this evening. We'll be back on Monday with more breaking news and analysis.

Enjoy the weekend.

17.26 IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has just issued this statement on Spain, following the European Commission's decision to give the country more time to bring its budget deficit to EU limits (see 15.41):

I strongly support the Spanish government's objectives of restoring a sound fiscal position while securing a recovery and creating jobs. Today's announcement to pursue a more gradual consolidation path is a welcome step toward meeting these goals, building on major reforms and structural fiscal improvements last year.

We are looking forward to discussing the measures underpinning the new strategy in the forthcoming Article IV Consultation mission to Spain, scheduled for early June.

17.03 In the wake of the weaker than expected US GDP data, traders have ended a week that has seen Euroepan stock markets record strong gains by taking profits.The FTSE 100 has closed down 0.25pc at 6,426.42, the Cac 40 in France is off 0.8pc and Germany's Dax has finished 0.2pc lower. London's benchmark index is still up 2.2pc on the week, however, boosted by hopes of an ECB interest rate cut.

16.39 Twenty percent of Switzerland's vast gold reserves are stashed in Britain, the president of its central bank has revealed.

Thomas Jordan told an annual shareholders' meeting that while 70pc of the country's 1,040 tons of gold were held domestically, almost a third is kept overseas, in Britain and Canada. He rejected also the notion that the central bank be required to repatriate the gold or increase its total reserves.

Mr Jordan said he had agreed to disclose details on the reserves because "there has been a growing need for transparency in our population in the last few years."

World War II and the Cold War led to several central banks in Europe keeping part of their gold reserves in foreign countries in case of land invasions.

15.53 Missed this yesterday, but it's perhaps worth a mention. The maker of Prima Donna and Marie Jo bras yesterday issued a profit warning, laying the blame at the door of Europe's economic woes. According to the Belgian bra-maker, Van De Velde, cash-strapped European women are hanging onto their bras for longer, hurting its bottom line.

But, the latest Mintel British lifestyles report suggested that the so-called "lipstick effect" was still in full swing. Spending on beauty and personal care product has increased by 11pc per person since the onset of the credit crisis in 2007, according to Mintel, as hard-pressed consumers seek cheaper treats.

15.41 The European Commission has indicated that Spain's weak economy means it will likely get another year to bring its budget deficit down to EU limits. In a statement on Friday, the Commission said:

The postponement of the correction of the excessive deficit to 2016 is consistent with the current technical analysis.

15.23Consumer sentiment is on the wane in America. Data shows sentiment fell this month as citizens remained concerned about their employment and financial prospects. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 76.4 from 78.6 in March, although it topped economists' expectations for 73.2.

15.01Sterling is on the rise against the dollar this afternoon. The pound is up 0.3pc to $1.5485.

14.57 Ben Martin writes: The US stock market appears to have shrugged-off the fact that the latest GDP data from America missed economist forecasts (see 13.32). With the figures showing the US economy expanded by 2.5pc during the first three months of the year, from 0.4pc at the end of 2012, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has now edged up 11 points, having fallen at the open.

14.51 Spain has today sought a two-year extension to meet European Union deficit rules. Mariano Rajoy's cabinet has today approved a plan to cut the shortfal of 10.6pc GDP back within the EU limit of 3pc by 2016 instead of 2014 as demanded by eurozone governments. Nicholas Spiro of Spiro Sovereign Strategy said that Spain has, to all intents and purposes, thrown in the towel on fiscal austerity:

The scale of the government's revisions to the country's GDP and budget deficit targets underscore the extent to which front-loaded fiscal retrenchment has exacerbated Spain's economic downturn and become self-defeating. This is a belated acknowledgement on the part of the Rajoy government that its macroeconomic policies have failed. A laser-like focus on growth-enhancing measures is now needed to help extricate Spain from its crisis.

Spain remains trapped in a vicious circle which the Rajoy government remains unable to escape from. The continued deterioration of public finances, the vulnerabilities in the banking sector, the severity of the economic downturn and the increasing political and social malaise are all feeding on each other. The liquidity-fuelled improvement in sentiment towards Spain has allowed investor complacency to set in, causing market prices to become dangerously detached from economic fundamentals and increasing the scope for a disorderly correction.

14.44 Figures out today show that lending conditions in the eurozone deteriorated in March. Lending to eurozone companies levelled off month-on-month in March after rising by €4bn in February, while companies borrowed 1.3pc less than a year ago, the European Central Bank said. David Brown at New View Economics said:

The continuing contraction in eurozone credit is now a major headache for eurozone policymakers. Without access to easier credit, the eurozone recovery will wither on the vine.

14.19 Rob Carnell of ING has also been casting his eye over the American growth figures. He says:

Trying to get a handle on what is going on under the bonnet of the US economy is a little tricky with figures as erratic as these, but this may be surmised from the final sales figure to domestic purchasers, which strips away the impact of volatile inventories and exports. This showed a 1.9% gain in 1Q13, up from 1.5% in 4Q12, and probably as good an indication of the true state of the underlying economy as there is. This is OK, but not fantastic. Moreover, with the data softening sharply as of March, and likely to continue weak through April and May, there is a good chance that 2Q13 is substantially weaker even than this latest number – a GDP figure much closer to 1.0% seems possible, and at those low levels, a rogue negative quarter can never be ruled out.

14.03 Commenting on those US GDP figures, Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics says:

The pick-up in first-quarter US GDP growth to 2.5% annualised, from 0.4% in the final quarter of last year, was a little below the consensus forecast at 3.0%, but still impressive in a quarter that was marked by an almost unprecedented fiscal squeeze. The expiry of the payroll tax cut led to a 5.3% annualised slump in real disposable incomes and government spending contracted by a further 4.1%, led by an 11.5% drop in defence spending. Remember, that drop in defence spending comes on the heels of a 22.1% slump in the final quarter of last year. The decline in government spending over the past two quarters is the biggest six-month contraction since the Korean war ended.

13.49 Rebecca Clancy has more details on Spain downgrading its growth forecasts. She writes:

Spain has downgraded its growth forecast for 2013 to -1.3pc, as the country’s deputy prime minister declared there was no need for major new reforms.

...

[Deputy PM Soroya] Saenz's announcement comes just a day after yesterday’s official figures showed unemployment in the country had hit a record high of 27.16pc in the first three months of the year.

That leaves more than six million out of work in the recession hit country.

It is a far cry from 2007, the peak of an economic boom fuelled by construction, when Spain’s jobless rate was at an all time low of 7.9pc.

The government, which took office in 2011 after winning a landslide victory, has already reformed labour laws making it easier to hire and fire.

The government is facing increasing public unrest over a series of harsh austerity measures, including a raft of cuts in public services, aimed at reining in the public deficit to within EU targets.

13.32 Stepping away from Spain for a moment, data just out in America shows the country's economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, but not as much as expected.

Gross domestic product expanded by 2.5pc, the Commerce Department said, after growth nearly stalled at 0.4pc in the fourth quarter. The increase, however, missed economists' expectations for a 3pc growth pace.

13.17 Spain's economy minister has said that a new deficit-cutting path has been agreed with Europe.

13.11 Spain's deputy prime minister has said that the government will try to cut taxes in the future.

13.02 At 11.11, we mentioned that Spain is today unveiling fresh measures for spurring is economy. Some detail is now starting to emerge. Spain has apparently revised down its growth forecast for this year to a contraction of -1.3pc. Previously, Spain was expecting its economy to shrink by just 0.5pc. Spain has also said that its public deficit will be 5.5pc of GDP next year and 4.1pc the following year.

The country's deputy prime minister has said that there is no need for major new reforms or taxes.

12.54 Speaking of France, The Guardian's Brussels correspondent, Ian Traynor, has spotted a story in Le Monde suggesting that Hollande's socialists have taken aim at Angela Merkel. Here's a few of his tweets:

12.32 On the other side of the Channel, households' confidence in the country's financial outlook has hit a record low. Data released by France's statistics institute showed that the overall household confidence indicator remained steady at 84 points in April. However, the sub-index for households' outlook for the general economic situation over the coming year fell by one point to a record minus 62 points.

12.16 And here's how that new banknote depicting Sir Winston Churchill will look:

12.10 Crisp new fivers will in future feature an image of Sir Winston Churchill, it has been announced. The wartime leader will become the first politician of the modern era to feature on a banknote, when it is issued in 2016.

Sir Mervyn King, the Bank of England governor, made the announcement during an event at Chartwell, Churchill's former home in Kent, attended by members of his family.

The design will feature a portrait of the prime minister in defiant pose, taken in 1941. Behind him is a view of the Houses of Parliament, with the hands on Big Ben showing three o'clock.

It reflects the approximate time of a statement to the House of Commons on May 13 1940 when he famously told MPs: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." The quote itself is also shown on the design.

11.58 Not content with being a so-called "goal machine", Robin van Persie is also going to star in television adverts for BT Sport this summer. In a three-year deal, the Manchester United striker, who scored 24 Premier League goals for his club this season, will lead the advertising line-up, alongside Gareth Bale.

Van Persie will star in TV adverts and feature on billboards and other marketing when BT Sport launches its push to sign up subscribers.

The footballer said: “I am thrilled to be joining BT Sport as one of the faces of their advertising. It has been great fun filming the adverts and shooting the posters and I know fans will be seeing some amazing footage and pictures when the adverts start to appear.”

BT has paid £738m for 38 Premier League matches a season, for three years from 2013. It has now spent more than £1bn on buying up other sports rights, new studios and hiring well-known presenters such as Olympic anchor Clare Balding, to help it build its new sports service.

The current and former Dresdner bankers had claimed Commerzbank reneged on a deal to pay out bonuses Dresdner had promised them before the takeover by the German bank.

Commerzbank had agreed that €400m had been put aside in the middle of 2008 by Dresdner to pay staff bonuses, but argued that as the financial crisis intensified after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers months later the payments became void.

The Business Secretary should launch an official investigation using the powers in the Companies Act under which the old DTI investigated the Mirror Group, the Guinness Affair and hotel group Queen’s Moat, according to PIRC.

In the letter, dated April 24 and seen by The Daily Telegraph, the investor group claims that both companies “fall short of the standard expected of UK listed companies”.

It adds: “Both companies are UK registered companies, but both are in the ludicrous position of commissioning investigations into themselves, when the directors of the parent companies themselves may well have cases to answer.”

When Sergio Oliveros arrived in Spain he found a nation brimming with confidence.

The country was one of the fastest growing in the European Union, having introduced the euro a year previously, and unemployment was steadily falling. Prime minister Jose Maria Aznar had just been re-elected, and money was pouring into infrastructure, business ventures and creative industries.

“There was a sort of euphoria,” he said. “Everyone was working, everyone was happy – there was such a buzz in the air. I was 20 and arrived as a student, and I remember being struck by how vibrant and energetic it was – and how different from Colombia, where I came from.”

But fast-forward 13 years, and Mr Oliveros is back in Bogota.

11.16 Ben Martin reports: With the release of US GDP data looming (the figures are due later this afternoon), a touch of profit-taking is weighing on the FTSE 100 in the wake of the strong gains seen earlier this week. The blue-chip index is now off 33.63 points at 6,408, and here's David Madden, a market analyst at IG, on the sentiment out in the market:

Stocks are a touch lower in London a day after the release of UK Q1 GDP, as dealers start to realise that marginal growth for the British economy won’t cut the mustard. Rather than risk it, dealers have decided to take their money off the table ahead of the US GDP update at lunchtime. In London, the mining sector is in the red due to profit-taking; natural resource stocks have had a good run during the week and traders have decided to bank profits.

11.11 A little later today, the Spanish government is due to unveil a new raft of measures aimed at kickstarting its economy. Economists are expecting that these will concentrate more on stimulus measures and less on austerity.

10.59 Expectations of lower interest rates in Europe have helped along an Italian bond auction this morning. The country's six-month debt costs tumbled to record lows as hopes of lower rates offset polticial uncertainty in Italy.

Rome sold €8bn of bills that mature in October 2013 at 0.503pc, down from the 0.83pc the treasury paid at a similar sale one month ago. This was the lowest since the introduction of the single currency.

10.49 The German finance ministry spokesman has also said that Angela Merkel in no way intended to infringe the ECB's independence with Thursday's comments on rates.

Speaking at a banking conference in Dresden on Thursday, she said the ECB would have to raise its interest rate if it was considering Germany in isolation, but that a lower rate would benefit the wider eurozone.

10.44 A German finance ministry spokesman has just said - courtesy of Reuters - that the German government is confident that the country's constitutional court will completely uphold the legality of the eurozone bailout measures.

10.36 On a bond-buying note, a member of the ECB's governing council has said today that the bank may never actually have to buy bonds through its bond-buying programme.

Speaking to Bloomberg, George Provopoulos said:

Given that in the last few months we have had a kind of stabilisation, normalization, maybe it will never be used," Provopoulos told news agency Bloomberg in an interview.

OMT has helped enormously. It is a good thing that we have decided to go ahead with that, just in case it would be needed.

Mario Draghi's so-called Outright Monetary Transactions plan, unveiled last September, has been credited with calming market fears over a break-up of the eurozone. But, it has not been used so far.

10.21 German newspaper Handelsblatt reports today that the Bundesbank has rejected the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme in a confidential opinion for the country's constitutional court.

Gary Jenkins of Swordfish Research notes that the Bundesbank rejects the idea of sovereign bond purchases in strong terms.

Apparently, the Bundesbank reckons that the so-called Outright Monetary Transactions could undermine independence of central banks.

But, the Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann has been public from the start about his organisation's opposition to the OMT programme launched last September by Mario Draghi (pictured above). He has criticised the programme many times.

The Bundesbank has confirmed as genuine the leaked report. The bank has also confirmed that Mr Weidmann will travel to the constiutional court hearings in June.

The bank raised its estimate for growth in 2013 fiscal year to 2.9pc, from 2.3pc in January, as the economy returns to a moderate recovery path as easing flows through into the domestic economy and growth rates of overseas economies pick up.

09.56 There's a marked divergence in the share price performance of Prudential and Standard Life following the announcement the former has poached Standard Life's chief financial officer, Jackie Hunt. Hunt will become the chief executive of the Pru's UK and European operations, helping its shares up 0.6pc - one of the morning's biggest FTSE 100 risers. Standard Life shares, however, have shed 1.7pc on the loss of its finance chief.

09.47 Data out this morning shows that consumers and companies withdrew deposits in March from banks in Cyprus, where large account holders in the two biggest lenders had to take a hit as part of the island's multi-billion bailout.

Private sector deposits fell 3.9pc to €44.6bn after a 2pc fall in February,

09.37 At 07.52, we mentioned that Japan is holding fire on any further monetary easing. The Bank of Japan's governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said today that no board members were calling for additional monetary easing at this stage, following the bank's massive monetary stimulus earlier this month.

09.28 Back in the London stock market, it's outsourcing group Capita that's topping the table on news it has been selected to form a joint venture with the Cabinet Office to sell a raft of management training services and tools that have been developed by the Government. Capita, which is up 1.9pc in early deals, will take a 51pc stake in the partnership. Analysts at Oriel Securities were pleased with the implications of the deal, which the outsourcing firm clinched from a competitive tendering process:

This is a deal that says much about Capita and its relationships with Government.

[...] Within the context of Capita it is not the numbers as much as the affirmation of Capita having been selected to deliver the project that matters.

09.16 Waitrose also flagged the trend for home baking, saying that sales of ingredients, decorations and accessories had jumped by 39pc.

That echoes the latest lifestyles report from Mintel, published today. The survey showed that customers are cooking at home more since the onset of the recession. It found that 34pc of Brits are cooking or baking more from scratch, fuelled by the popularity of programmes such as The Great British Bake Off (pictured above).

This has also helped to cause a spike in the sale of dishwashing products, with the average spending per household on such items up 12pc since 2007 to £18 per year.

09.09 Still on a consumer note, John Lewis has said that its weekly sales eased 0.1pc, standing at £61.86m.

"On a positive note, fashion sales benefited from the change in weather. However, the first sunshine of spring kept a number of customers in their gardens rather than out shopping," said John Lewis.

Sales at its Waitrose supermarket chain were up 9.9pc (excluding petrol) last week. Shoppers were stocking up on summery foods such as fruit juce and ice cream. Waitrose also noted the effect of ITV's Broadchurch on sales, saying:

With must-see TV programmes such as Broadchurch, Britain's Got Talent and The Voice gripping the nation, many people chose to spend their evenings indoors and have our £10 meal deal. The new Menu from Waitrose range of high-quality prepared meals has also been particularly popular, with favourites including fish pie, moussaka and piri piri chicken.

09.01 On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Stephen Lea, an economic psychologist at University of Exeter, is discussing the psychological scars of recession.

He highlights the importance of consumer sentiment, saying that if that is low, it can push us further into recession. Not only can sentiment be affected by people losing jobs or businesses, but he adds that there is also a secondary effect on friends and family of people close to them falling victim to the downturn.

But he adds that sentiment can also reflect what the media and politicians say about the economy, rather than what is actually doing. He would rather politicians did not go around saying "we'are all doomed all the time".

Yesterday - in light of the 0.3pc rise in GDP - we asked readers in a poll how they were feeling about the economy. Our poll showed that 29pc of you felt like the 2008 recession never ended; 37pc felt that things were improving; and 34pc felt we're flatlining.

08.47 The French government has this morning confirmed that it has sold a 2.1pc stake - or 17.6m shares - in EADS, the parent company of Airbus. According to Reuters, the French finance minister has just confirmed that the stake sale was worth £707m.

08.42 Ben Martin writes: Traders' disappointment that Morrison is not looking to bid for online grocery group Ocado has sent shares in the latter sliding 6.8pc this morning. It had already been confirmed the companies were in talks over a potential tie-up, but yesterday, after the market closed, Ocado moved to scotch mounting speculation that a takeover is in the offing. The market chatter had driven the shares up 12.2pc on Thursday. Here's what Ocado said:

On 14 March 2013, Ocado confirmed that it was in discussions with Morrison which may lead to an agreement to license certain of Ocado's existing and future intellectual property and operating knowledge for the purposes of Morrison commencing an online grocery business in the UK. Ocado confirms that the arrangements under discussion do not involve Morrison acquiring either the whole of, or an equity stake in, Ocado.

08.39 Pearson, owner of the Financial Times and Penguin books, holds its annual general meeting today. Ahead of that, the company has said that it is trading in line with expectations. In the first three months of the year, underlying sales eased 1pc.

"We expect the external environment to remain challenging for our developed world and publishing businesses in 2013 owing to a combination of cyclical and structural factors," said Pearson.

But, it added that there are considerable growth opportunities in education, driven by a rapidly-growing middle class and adoption of learning technologies.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Hunt as successor to Rob Devey. Jackie joins Prudential with a proven track record of delivery in the highly competitive UK insurance market. I am delighted that a person of her talent and experience is joining the Group. I greatly look forward to working with her.

08.25 A look at corporate results out this morning. Advertising giant WPP has unveiled a 6pc rise in revenues for the first quarter, up to £2.53bn. Strong like-for-like growth in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East has helped spur turnover.

The world's largest advertising company, which owns the Young & Rubicam and Grey Group agencies, has been buying digital advertising assets and companies in fast-expanding markets such as China and Brazil to counter slower growth in Europe and North America.

08.14 It's been a muted start to stock market trading this morning, with the FTSE 100 dipping seven points to 6,435 and the FTSE 250 down 15 points at 13,9991. The main focus of the day for dealers will be the release of the US first-quarter GDP figure, due out in the afternoon, but early trade is likely to be quiet, according to Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

With little else on the agenda, markets may well trade sideways this morning.

08.12 Also last night, online retail giant Amazon posted its latest results. Its net income declined in the first three months of the year even though revenue increased 22pc, as the retailer continued to spend heavily on order fulfillment and rights to digital content.

Amazon's operating expenses rose 22pc to $15.9bn, from $13bn. The company has been investing a lot of its income in enhancing its distribution network, its website and its Kindle business. Because of that, and deep discounts it offers customers, Amazon's profit margins have been thin.

08.06 In case you missed it last night, here is Jeremy Warner's latest column. He asks: "Will Angela Merkel be the Abraham Lincoln of her age?" He writes:

At the highest levels of German policy-making, it is understood that either the design flaws must be eliminated or the euro will disintegrate. So, will Angela Merkel, once safely re-elected as German Chancellor, be prepared to provide the leadership necessary to save monetary union?

Certainly there is as yet nothing in the rhetoric to suggest she’s willing to back debt mutualisation or some other form of transfer union. None the less, my guess is that she will, if for no better reason than this: if you examine the record, she’s already ceded a considerable amount of ground, first in agreeing sovereign bail-outs and then in sanctioning the European Central Bank to act like a proper lender of last resort.

To go significantly further would require treaty change, referendums throughout the eurozone, and even a change in the German constitution, which forbids debt mutualisation. This is a much bigger ask than anything done to date, a huge debate she would have to win with a sceptical German public and beyond.

07.52Asian markets mostly fell on Friday, with Tokyo slipping as the yen advanced after the Bank of Japan held off any new measures to spur the economy.

Tokyo fell 0.3pc, or 41.95 points, to 13,884.13 and Seoul lost 0.36pc, or 7.05 points, to 1,944.55, while Sydney eased 0.1pc, or 4.9 points, to close at 5,097.5.

However, the yen enjoyed a rally on Friday after the BoJ said its policy board had voted unanimously to stand pat on policy.

The meeting was the first since it revealed a massive stimulus package at the start of April aimed at jumpstarting the economy and ending years of deflation.

07.41 Samsung has apparently been grabbing market share from Apple. Data out overnight suggests that Samsung took more market share from its arch rival during the last quarter, with sales of its phones jumping to account for one third of the global market.

According to research firm IDC, sales of the iPhone 5 helped Apple's volumes grow 6.6pc to 37.4m phones in the quarter from a year earlier, but that was not enough to stop its share of the market dropping to 17.3pc from 23pc.

A surge of Android phones from Samsung lifted its shipments to 70.7m, giving it a 32.7pc share of the market, up from 28.8pc a year earlier.

There are concerns that accountants are seconded to Government and then take that knowledge of government policy back to their firms, where they might then be able to advise clients on how to take advantage of them.

Margaret Hodge, chairman of the parliamentary committee, said that the large accountancy firms have an "unhealthily cosy" relationship with government.

But, Louise Armitstead reports that the Big Four firms have hit back against these accusations. She writes:

Kevin Nicholson, head of tax at PwC, said: “We strongly disagree with the PAC’s conclusions about the role of large accountancy firms which seem to be based on a misunderstanding both of what we do and how we do it.”

Another leading tax partner said: “Since accountants can be sued for failing to help clients make their tax affairs as efficient as possible, this is a very muddled report.”

...

Jane McCormick, head of tax at KPMG in the UK, said the role of their secondees to Government “is to provide tax technical input and commercial experience so that the authorities can make informed choices on tax policy. Our secondees do not write legislation or make policy decisions.”

07.17 A brief look at what commodities are up to this morning. Gold is currently on course for its largest weekly gain in one-and-a-half years. The yellow metal is currently up about 0.6pc to $1,472.73 and is heaing for a 5pc rise on the week.

That jump comes after gold entered a bear market earlier this month when it tumbled below the psychologically important $1,500 mark to its lowest level in 20 months. Hitting the precious metal was speculation that the US Federal Reserve could end quantitative easing in 2014; anxiety that Cyprus would sell its gold reserves; and bearish sentiment from analysts.

But with the price sinking so low, bargain-hunters have now moved in and there has been much physical buying across Asia, according to Reuters. Dealers are apparently experiencing a shortage of gold bars, coins, nuggets and other items.

Britain is growing again. That’s the message that needs to be taken from Thursday’s first-quarter GDP figures.

Doom-mongers will point out that the economy is still 2.7pc smaller than its pre-recession peak and in the midst of the slowest recovery in a century, but there’s nothing new in that.

What has changed is that the UK dodged a triple dip and that growth, at 0.3pc, was better than even the optimists dared hope.

The importance of Thursday’s bounce cannot be understated. The outcome was always going to be a pivotal moment. The early year’s optimism has petered out since the UK was stripped of its AAA rating and in the face of deep downgrades by both the Office for Budget Responsibility and the International Monetary Fund. A triple dip would have reinforced the sense of gloom. Instead, the first quarter could herald a domestic revival.

The Independent leads with ENRC’s troubles escalating yesterday when the Serious Fraud Office began a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption at the beleaguered Kazakh miner.

Sterling leapt yesterday after GDP rose by a surprise 0.3pc in the first quarter.

The Times leads with a report on President Assad's regime use of chemical weapons in Syria.

On the Independent's front page, they write that Parliament's spending watchdog will warn today that the Treasury is "unhealthily cosy" with the elite accounting firms that advise companies and Britain's richest people how to avoid tax.

The Guardian also has the story about the public accounts committee warning that the 'Big Four' accountancy firms are using knowledge gained from staff seconded to the Treasury to help wealthy clients avoid paying UK taxes.

06.55 Good morning and welcome to our new daily business and markets live blog, your one stop shop for all the breaking business stories of the day.